Sing We Noel
by AWildeRomantic
Summary: Sam goes with Jack to a family gathering for the holidays, and they keep finding themselves under the proverbial mistletoe... Full of SamJack shippy goodness, the summary doesn't do it justice. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N – Ok, now I actually have the right document uploaded...XD I feel stupid, I accidentally uploaded a chapter from another story...That's what happens when school wears me out...

Well, with this holiday season marking the one year anniversary of the first time I saw Stargate: SG-1, I thought I might as well write a good ol Christmas story involving our fave pair of peeps. So here we go, the clichéd, shamelessly shippy holiday tale of Sam and Jack that is sure to warm yer li'l hearts!

On a more serious note. I wanted to do something involving Jack's family. They don't really say much about them in the series, so I invented the whole O'Neill posse. I would like to dedicate Dane O'Neill to my bff molly, who insisted that Jack have a younger brother.

* * *

Chapter 1

It was that time of year again, and Jack could tell by the way the airmen at the entrance to the base kept rubbing their hands together, watching their breath trail up in a fog before their faces. The leaves were all gone off the trees and more often than not the sky was a dark steely grey. But it hadn't snowed, yet.

He found the rest of his team already in the commissary, Daniel eating some waffles and sipping at coffee, Sam with her nose stuck in some mission file, and Teal'c digging in to a hearty looking tray of food.

" G'morning, campers!" Jack said cheerily, sitting down next to Teal'c.

"Hi, Jack." Daniel squinted at him. "You seem…cheerful this morning."

"Tis the holidays, Danny-boy." Jack replied, resting his elbows on the table. He shot a look over at Sam, but she still didn't raise her eyes from whatever it was she was reading. "I heard Hammond's giving us all a nice long break."

"Indeed." Teal'c said. "I plan to return to Chulak to spend time with Ray'ac."

"Ah," Jack nodded. "What about you two?" he included the two on the other side of the table, though was pretty sure Sam only just comprehended that she was being spoken to.

"I was going to go visit Catherine." Daniel said. "She and her family invited me over for Christmas and I haven't seen her in a while…What about you?"

Jack shrugged, picking up the saltshaker and pretending to be fascinated with it. "Oh…I've got a family thing."

"Really?" Daniel's exclamation came out sounding more surprised than he'd probably intended it.

"Yes, Danny, really!" Jack rolled his eyes. "I do actually have a family, you know."

"I know, I just was surprised because you never talk about them."

"Yeah, well, there's a reason for that." Jack's mood seemed to have soured a bit and he slumped back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. "My dad didn't like Sarah. No idea why. He's just strange like that…excuse me _eccentric_ like that. So he kinda stopped talking to me, and then…well the rest of it's my fault. I didn't particularly want to talk to any of them after Charlie died."

"Oh." Daniel didn't seem to know how to respond to that. "So why're you doing something with them for Christmas?"

"One of my cousins has cancer…he wanted the family to get back together for the holidays and said that the family includes me." Jack smirked, his cheerful mood from earlier returning somewhat. "Which brings me around to the real reason I'd wanted to talk to you guys. I'm not too excited about facing the whole O'Neill clan on my own and was going to ask if one of you wanted to tag along, but seeing as you're busy…"

Daniel nodded apologetically, then nudged Sam in the side with his elbow. She didn't look up at first, but the second time he did it her head snapped up.

"What?"

"You said you weren't doing anything." Daniel prompted.

"So…?"

"So why don't you go along?"

Sam's cheeks turned a faint tint of pink and she frowned slightly. "Oh…I don't…that might not…"

"It's ok." Jack said, cutting off her stuttering. He stood up. "Really. I'll manage." Sticking his hands in his pockets he sauntered out of the commissary.

Daniel turned in his seat to give Sam a slightly annoyed expression. "Why can't you go with him?"

"Daniel!" Sam rolled her eyes. "That wouldn't be a good idea, trust me."

"Saaaamm. It would be a nice gesture."

"Indeed," the large Jaffa decided to put his two cents worth in. "I believe it would be a very kind gesture towards O'Neill."

"Why me?!" Sam whined, eyes wide.

"Because you're the one that doesn't have any plans." Daniel replied, sipping his coffee. "And besides. Jack and I would probably end up killing each other after two days and Teal'c's….an alien. Something tells me you'd go over better with Jack's family."

"His family. That's exactly the reason I can't go. They'd probably think we were_together_ or something."

"Uhuh." Daniel grinned. "And if I went they'd think Jack was gay. See? You're a much better choice."

Sam looked at her two friends. Faced with their pleading (or in Teal'c's case, stony) expressions, she felt slightly overwhelmed and nodded, sighing as she stood up. "Ok…ok fine. _Maybe_. I'll think about it." She turned to leave, and heard Daniel whisper something to Teal'c. "And no fair getting Janet to convince me to go!"

* * *

She found Jack later in the exercise room, jogging on one of the treadmills and listening to some Christmas music on the crappy boom box in the corner. He got off the treadmill when Sam entered and shut off the music.

"Hey, Carter, what's up?"

"Not much…you still want someone to go with you to your family thing, sir?" The 'sir' sounded strangely tacked on, and Sam found herself wishing ruefully for just a moment that she could loose the military formality.

"Sure, if you think you're up to it. My family can be quite a crazy bunch and I'm sure there's going to be a lot of them." Jack grinned at her then took a swig from his water bottle. Then he added in an oddly sentimental tone, "I'd love for you to come, Carter."

"Great. So where is it?"

"Minnesota." Jack replied, grabbing his duffel bag. "It ought to be beautiful up there this time of year…all that snow…" He grinned sheepishly when Sam raised her eyebrows. " 'White Christmas', Carter, don't tell me you've never seen it."

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas," Sam muttered, shaking her head and laughing. They turned and walked into the hall, shoulder to shoulder.

"Just like the ones I used to knoooww!" Jack bellowed, attracting more than a few odd looks.

Sam rolled her eyes at her CO. "So, sir, do you think we should tell Hammond?"

"Tell him what? Carter, I doubt he cares what his personnel do over their vacation."

"I know. But this is a little different than the standard vacation activity."

Jack put a finger to his lips. "Shh…what he doesn't know can't hurt him. Or get back to Kinsey. Besides, we're not doing anything wrong."

"And my dad –"

"I will say it again, Carter, we're doing nothing wrong and what he doesn't know can't hurt him." Jack slapped her jovially on the back. "Besides, your old man should be happy that I'm actually managing to drag you out of that little hole in the ground you call a lab and forcing you to rejoin society."

They parted ways at the locker rooms, Jack going to take a shower and Sam heading up to the control room to see if anything interesting was going on.

Siler and Walter were stringing some colored lights up over the window that looked down into the gate room while Hammond supervised.

"Doing some holiday decorating, sir?" Sam said, stepping up alongside the general.

"I thought we might spruce the place up a bit," Hammond nodded, turning to her. "Got plans for the holiday, Major?"

Sam nodded, not going into details.

"That's good." Hammond looked back at Siler and Walter, who, despite their capabilities of keeping the gate running smoothly, seemed unable to figure out how to untangle the string of lights. "I'm going to visit my granddaughters…" he chuckled. "They've already got very long Christmas lists filled out."

Sam smiled, thinking about her own niece and nephew and making a mental note to call Mark and see what they wanted. Oh and she had to get Cassie something…

Excusing herself, Sam turned and walked out of the control room. She headed down to the infirmary, which also had a few decorations up. Janet was just releasing one of the new members of SG-11, who had been down with the flu for the past couple days. Sam waited until her friend was done, then walked over.

"Hey, Janet."

"Hey, what's up?" Janet was busy writing something on her clipboard and didn't look up.

"Not much." Sam sat down on the edge of the bed. "I was just thinking about what I should get Cassie for Christmas."

"Don't get her one of those new playstations."

"Why? Don't you want her to have one?" Sam smirked.

"Not that, I've just already bought her one," Janet sighed, shaking her head and looking up at Sam. "Sometimes I think I spoil that girl too much."

"Naahhh," Sam flapped her hand dismissively. "I could get her some games to go with it."

"Good idea." Janet set her clipboard down and folded her arms over her chest. "Are you doing anything on Christmas? You could always come over to our place."

"Oh, I've got plans, actually."

"Ah. Going out to see your brother?"

Sam shifted. "No."

Janet raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then…" her eyes lit up. "Sam! You wouldn't have a date, would you?"

"Janet! No!"

"Ok then, if you're not spending it with your family and its not a date, then what is it? And staying in your lab doesn't count."

"I'm going to Minnesota with Colonel O'Neill."

Janet's expression changed. "And the rest of the team?"

"N-no just us."

There was a long moment of silence when Janet just stared at her, and Sam could tell that the petite doctor was working hard at holding back a grin. "Just you. The two of you."

"Yeah, he's got some family thing and was too chicken to go by himself."

"Right. You sure you're not just going to spend the week all cozied up in his cabin by the roaring fire?" Janet said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Sam scowled at her. "He's my commanding officer. We're just friends, sheesh! This is exactly why I didn't want to do this in the first place…" She got suddenly to her feet and Janet reached out to put a placating hand on her arm.

"Oh, Sam, I'm just teasing you. I'm sure you'll have fun."

"I hope so." Sam said, then gave her friend a quick hug and hurried off to finish some mission reports.

* * *

Later that night Jack sat on his couch, phone balanced between his shoulder and ear while he watched the first few flakes of snow falling past the streetlight outside. It wasn't enough to stick yet, but the weather forecast had called for a couple inches by the end of the week.

"So you're definitely coming then?" It was his cousin on the other line, Ben, the one with cancer. He was a little younger than Jack, but the two had been close for a while before Jack had gotten too involved in the Air Force and starting a family.

"Yeah. I'm bringing a friend too, if that's ok."

"That's fine. Anyone I know?"

"Nope." Jack shifted around on the couch, slouching down a little lower. "She's my second in command, Sam Carter."

"A girl?" Ben chuckled. "Wow, Jack, didn't see that one coming."

"She's just a friend! 'Sides, Air Force regs say we can't have any sort of relationship."

"Sure. Anyway, I'm sure your dad will be thrilled." Ben's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Actually, I think Dad might like her. She's more his idea of a 'good woman' than Sarah was." Jack frowned a little at the description. "But hey, you didn't get a hold of Dane, by any chance, did you?"

"It took me _forever_ to track him down! That man quite literally lost himself in San Fran. But yeah, I talked to him."

". . .And is he coming?"

"He said he would only if you were." Ben's tone was a little more serious. "He misses you."

"I know. Tell him I'll be there."

"M'kay. Talk to you soon, Jack."

"Yeah, you too." Jack hung up the phone, dropping it onto the end table before stretching out all the way on the couch and folding his arm behind the back of his head.

It seemed like his family – or rather, his immediate family – had all grown apart because of various causes, and most of those causes could be blamed on his dear old father. Jack had reasons for not talking about his family with the rest of SG-1, mainly because it was too painful and too complex.

Dane was Jack's younger brother, born well after Jack had left home. Their mother, who had been just a little too old, perhaps, to be having another child, died just after Dane was born. Jack knew almost immediately that this was already a huge strike against Dane when it came to their father, but Jack was already swept up in the Air Force and didn't care enough to take a break from it.

Jack tried to come home whenever he could and help with his little brother, and their was family around that lent some much needed assistance, but Dane had still started making run away attempts from the time he turned twelve up until he actually moved out. The farthest he'd got was Jack's military base, and Jack had gotten back from training one day to find Dane sitting in his CO's office.

It ended when Dane was 17 and he simultaneously packed his bags and was thrown out. Jack had talked to him on and off for a few years on and off, but now three years had passed when no one had known where to find Dane. It was a relief to know that he was still ok.

* * *

"So, I'm sorry I won't be able to come back for Christmas."

Sam looked up from her steaming cup of coffee to smile at her father. "It's ok, Dad, really. At least you're here now." They were sitting at a small table in the local Starbucks, listening to the low chatter of the other customers and the holiday music that was playing.

"Yeah, I just wish I could spend the holidays with you and Mark."

"I know," Sam reached over and patted her father's hands. "But Mark and Carol are going to visit her parents and I….I've got stuff to do. Plans."

"Plans?" Jacob shot her a questioning look over the rim of his coffee mug.

"Yeah. I'm doing stuff with a friend of mine." Sam replied cryptically.

Jacob snorted, giving his daughter one of those 'looks'. "Sam…the way you just said 'friend' makes me a little suspicious."

"Nothing for you to worry about, Dad."

Jacob leaned in closer to her over the table, then Selmak spoke in a whisper that wouldn't be audible to anyone else in the store. "The more you speak like that, the more suspicious Jacob gets."

Sam could feel the color rising in her cheeks. "I'm not going to tell you! You'll just…get mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you? I won't get mad at you!"

"Colonel O'Neill."

"Sam!!!"

Sam half closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, sipping her coffee and giving her father a look.

_I told you so._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Snowing. It was finally snowing.

Sam stopped in front of the window, holding a large basket of clean laundry. For a moment she just stood there, watching the huge flakes drifting slowly to the ground. Already her backyard was coated in white.

She turned and took the laundry into her bedroom, where a suitcase lay open on the bed, already partially filled with the various necessities for traveling. Her two hour flight with Jack to Minnesota wasn't until later that day, but she'd rather be ready to go early.

As she folded and put more clothes into the suitcase she smiled to herself, recalling her talk with her Dad a couple weeks ago. Jacob had been flustered when he found out she was spending her vacation with Jack, more flustered when he heard they'd be gone for a week. Sam had even heard by way of Daniel that Jacob had given Jack quite a lecture too.

* * *

Snowing. God damn it, it was snowing. 

Jack grunted as he drove towards Sam's house, leaning forward so he could see through the snowfall to make out the sides of his lane. Obviously the snow ploughs hadn't been through lately, and he could only hope that the drive to the airport wouldn't be this difficult. He turned onto Sam's street and pulled up in her driveway.

Once on the porch he rang the bell then stood there, rubbing his hands together and trying to look as freezing as possible for his 2IC when she finally opened the door. It seemed to work, because she quickly motioned him inside and immediately offered a cup of coffee.

"Nah, I'm good." Jack grinned at her then checked his watch. "We should probably leave soon anyway, just so we've got time to get through those annoying security checks at the airport…remind me again why we didn't just bum a ride off the Air Force?"

Sam was busy pulling on her jacket and raised her eyebrows at him. "Because that would involve telling General Hammond exactly how we're spending Christmas together."

"Oh right." Jack reached down and picked up her suitcase. "You told your dad though…Is this all you're bringing?"

"No I've got another bag," Sam grabbed the large black tote that was sitting against the wall. "I didn't mean to tell Dad…he's just got this way of getting information out of you."

Jack grimaced as he stepped out onto the porch and waited for Sam to lock the door. "You don't need to tell _me_ that, Carter. I suppose you heard about the lecture I got?"

"Mhmm." Sam grinned.

"Yeah. Well, he certainly succeeded in making me feel like a teenager." Jack led the way down the steps and over to his truck, throwing Sam's suitcase in the back under the cover with his stuff. "He told me to behave myself. Jeeze, like I've ever been anything but civil towards you!"

Sam chuckled. "He's my dad, sir, what can I say? He's over protective at times."

"And by 'at times' you mean all the time."

"Yup."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Just get in the car."

They listened to Christmas music on the drive to the airport, which wasn't half as bad as Jack had feared.

"Danny's gonna come over later and pick up the car," he explained as they got their suitcases out of the back. "That way I don't have to pay for a week's worth of parking…"

The airport was fairly busy, but the holiday travel rush was only just starting and so they made it through security with a little while to spare before their flight.

"I haven't done this in ages," Sam said, turning around to look out the huge plate glass window at the snow swept runways. "I'm so used to traveling by 'gate."

"Shh…don't say that too loud, Carter," Jack warned over the top of his magazine. He winked. "Maybe we should loose the military façade for this trip. Make things a little less formal. Namely, don't call me 'sir', that's just weird out of context."

Sam laughed. "Alright, if you insist."

"I do." Jack vanished once again behind his magazine.

Their wait continued for another half hour, then came the harrowing stretch of trying to get everyone seated on the plane. Finally Sam was sitting in the window seat with Jack at her side, waiting for the plane to take off and listening to Jack grumble about the amount of leg room.

"We never have to worry about this with the Stargate," he muttered.

Sam leaned back in her seat, turning her head to look at her CO in amusement. "That's because our molecules are disassembled. No need to worry about leg room."

The announcement was made that they would be taking off, and everyone fastened their seatbelts. The plane started moving down the runway, picking up speed. Sam was sitting with her face practically pressed against the window, watching as the scenery flashed by and, finally, started to grow smaller and smaller as they took off.

"Look, I can see Cheyenne Mountain." Sam said, pointing.

Jack leaned over to see as well and nodded. "Look, I can see Teal'c," he said, smirking. Sam rolled her eyes.

* * *

Jack soon learned just what Sam did on flights, and that was fall asleep. Within fifteen minutes after takeoff she was dozing lightly, her head resting on his shoulder. Jack leaned back in his seat, trying to look as natural as possible as he pulled his magazine out again. The stewardess came around a little while later with drinks, and Jack got a cup of coffee. 

"Do you think your wife would want anything?" She asked, glancing down at Sam as she handed Jack his cup.

It took Jack by surprise, and he didn't quite register who she was referring to. "Oh…she'll probably just want a diet coke." He tried not to grin. After the stewardess had left, Jack nudged Sam with his elbow. "Hey. Sleepyhead, wake up."

"Hmmm…?" Sam opened her eyes and straightened up, eyeing the cup Jack offered her.

"Diet coke. You were really zonked out there."

"The sound of the engines put me to sleep," Sam said, accepting the drink and sipping at it.

Jack shot her a sideways look, contemplating whether to mention what the stewardess had said to him. "She thought you were my wife."

"Who?"

Jack jerked his head towards the front of the plane where the stewardess was restocking her cart with ice.

"Oh." Sam shrugged, apparently unconcerned. "It's a logical assumption…I mean I did kinda fall asleep on you there, sir."

"Carter…"

"Sorry…how much longer until we get there?"

"No clue." Jack said, shrugging. "We could play tic-tac-toe if you're bored. Though you'd probably beat me."

"No no," Sam said with a giggle. "We should rename it zats and Stargates or something like that."

"Sheesh, Carter, you're such a nerd."

"And proud of it. If I weren't such a nerd we'd probably be dead by now." Sam pointed out and Jack found that he could do nothing but nod in agreement.

* * *

They arrived in the airport in the twin cities, collected their bags and went to the car rental kiosk to pick up the car Jack had reserved for them. 

"They rented this big house somewhere near a lake a ways north of here," Jack explained. "Ben said we can stay there if we want, it's got like fifteen bedrooms or something. But it'll be an hour's drive."

"Wonderful…maybe I'll catch up on my sleep…" Sam shot Jack a look as the loaded their suitcases into the trunk.

"Oh no, girly, you're gonna help drive. You know how my knees are." Jack stuck his tongue out in response to the "annoyed" sigh he got from Sam.

The drive was actually far less boring than either of them had feared. They talked, listened to music, and made a stop at a small roadside store to pick up some food and coffee. Finally they were driving into the small town that the rented house was in. It was along side a small lake that was all but completely frozen over.

Sam got out of the car, shivering as she looked up at the house. It was a huge building, a mansion in all respects, two stories high with a sloping back lawn that went all the way down to the water's edge. The whole scene was very picturesque, with a thick layer of snow covering the ground and roof tops and trees…

"Geeze, I can barely imagine spending vacation here let alone living in a place like this," Sam muttered, walking around to help Jack get the suitcases out of the trunk.

Jack shrugged. "Eh, I'm not complaining too much. Sure beats staying in a hotel." He turned around and waved at the man who had just come out of the house and was walking over towards them. "Ben! Hey!"

"Hey yourself!" Ben pulled Jack into a friendly embrace. He was a tall, thin man with a little familial resemblance to Jack in the structure of his face. His light brown, almost amber, eyes peeked out from under a knit cap. "How was the trip up here?"

"Fine, fine. A little boring, but we survived."

Ben nodded, looking towards Sam. "And you must be Sam, Jack was telling me about you."

"Only good things, I swear!" Jack assured Sam as she shook Ben's hand.

"Anyway," Ben said, chuckling. "Come on inside. You must be freezing…"

He helped them carry their things inside, through to the main sitting room where a short woman with flaming red hair was stringing up Christmas decorations.

"That's my wife, Stacy," Ben explained to Sam. Stacy turned, spotting them and walking over.

"So it looks like you two made it alright and in one piece," Stacy said after being introduced to Sam. "You're the first ones here so you'll get your pick of the bedrooms. Do you just need one?"

Jack coughed and shot Sam a look out of the corner of his eye. "Oh…erm…no…we're not _together_…"

"Right." Stacy grinned, not sounding entirely convinced. "Well, Ben can show you around and I'll go put some coffee on."

Ben led them up a sweeping flight of stairs in the middle of the house to the second floor. A long hallway ran the length of the house, doors on either side leading off to bedrooms or bathrooms or sitting rooms. Sam chose a room at the end that had a view of the backyard. Jack claimed the room next to it, and spent some time amusing himself by popping in and out of the door that joined the two.

* * *

After they unpacked they joined Ben and Stacy in the huge living room downstairs, sitting in the overstuffed armchairs in front of the fireplace where Stacy had lit a roaring fire. 

"So when is everyone else getting here?" Jack asked.

Ben paused to think a moment. "The people who are staying here are trickling in over the next couple days…I know your dad is getting here the day after tomorrow and I think Dane said he'd be getting in the day after that. Then a bunch of the people who live close enough that they don't have to stay over are just coming Christmas eve for the party."

"There's always a little concert here at the community center in town on Christmas day," Stacy put in. "They asked me to do some solos with the choir, so you guys might want to come see it."

"Definitely," Jack exchanged a nod with Sam. "I didn't know you sang."

"Just a hobby of mine."

Ben smiled at his wife and settled back in his chair a little. "I love how the holidays are supposed to be fun, and yet you always spend most of the time just planning on _how_ to have that fun."

"Yeah, see now you understand why I don't usually do this sort of thing." Jack said, grinning and taking a sip of coffee.

Ben chuckled. "Uhuh. But it means a lot to me that you came, Jack. And I think it means a lot to Dane too that he'll get to see you again."

"Who's Dane?" Sam asked, shooting Jack a questioning look.

"Oh, my little brother."

"Really?" Her eye's widened. "I didn't know you had a brother."

Jack grinned at her. "There's a lot about me you don't know, Carter."

"Carter?" Ben gave his cousin an odd look.

"Oh," Jack rolled his eyes. "Military thing. Becomes force of habit after five years."

"Has it really been only five years? It feels like so much more…" Sam said teasingly, earning herself a playful punch in the arm.

"So you two work together?" Stacy asked. "What do you guys do exactly?"

"Highly classified work in the analysis of deep space radar telemetry." Jack recited, looking fairly proud of himself for remembering all that. Sam gave him a couple of slow claps.

"Whoo…" Ben let out a low whistle. "I have no idea what the hell that is, but I'm sure it's important."

"Yah sure ya betcha." Jack said. The two men looked at each other and chuckled as though sharing an inside joke.

* * *

That night as Sam got ready for bed she noticed it was snowing again, huge flakes that drifted lazily to earth, barely visible in the inky black night. She also noticed that her CO was standing in the doorway between their two rooms, watching her. 

"Come look at this," she said, beckoning him over to the window. Jack walked over.

"Nice. I'm sure glad we don't have to drive anywhere tomorrow."

"Mmm. Stacy and I were watching the news earlier, there's a winter storm advisory starting at 9:00 tomorrow."

"Don't you mean oh-nine hundred?" Jack asked, grinning.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Jack moved from the slightly drafty window to perch himself on the edge of the bed while Sam went to dig in the dresser drawers and remember where she'd stuck her pajamas. "So what do you think of my family so far, Carter – Sam?"

"I think Ben and Stacy are really nice." Sam said. She paused, turning slowly to Jack. "Is he the one with…"

"Cancer? Yeah. He wears that hat all the time cus of chemo." A remorseful expression crossed Jack's face and he looked down, tracing his finger over the embroidery of the blanket he was sitting on.

"I wish there was something we could do for him." Sam murmured. She pulled her PJs out and stood there, staring down at them. "Like we did for my dad. With the tok'ra."

"Yeah," Jack said, choked. "But…we can't do that for everyone in the world who has cancer. The tok'ra are having enough of a symbiot shortage as it is. And I think…I think Ben's ready for it. I talked to him a little about it and he didn't seem too upset. He's one tough cookie."

Sam nodded, then closed the dresser drawer with a slight thud. "Sir, if you don't mind-?"

"Huh?" Jack looked up, broken suddenly out of his thoughts.

Sam laughed. "I have to change."

"Oh! Right. Yeah." Jack got to his feet. "G'night, Car..Sam."

"Car-Sam." Sam giggled. "That's a new one. G'night sir." She grinned at him. Jack rolled his eyes and walked over to the door joining their rooms, stepping through and closing it carefully behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – squee thanky for the reviews! I really appreciate them and am happy all of you like this story so far…Mmm…we meet Jack's dad in this chapter (yay!). Oh, also, yes I know Jack goes back and forth between calling her "Sam" and calling her "Carter", but I did that on purpose. I mean if you were calling someone something for five years it would be hard to switch at the drop of a hat…

* * *

Chapter 3

Just as expected, Jack's father arrived a day later. It was snowing again, though slightly warmer so the snow was wet and heavy and the driveway was turned to a puddle of slush. Sam and Stacy saw the cab pull up out of the front window, and Ben hurried out to go help.

"Aren't you going?" Sam asked, turning to Jack.

"I'll let Ben handle the first bit." Jack murmured. He stood watching out the front window for a few moments then went to stand on the front porch. Sam hurried to his side, standing close enough to be comforting and far enough so that it wouldn't raise any questions. They both watched as Ben helped Jack's father up the front walk.

He looked almost like what Sam imagined Jack would look in his 80's; Sternly handsome with a head of almost white hair and deep brown eyes that had lost none of their alertness with age.

"Hey, Dad." Jack said, walking towards him.

"Jonathan," his father took Jack's hand, shaking it rather formally. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Still doing the old Air Force gig. What about you?"

His father nodded. "I'm good. Still doing the old living and getting older gig." The two men stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up, silently communicating. Finally Jack's father's lips tightened, turning up slightly in a strained smile. "It's good to see you again."

"You too." Jack visibly relaxed, then turned, beckoning Sam to his side. "Dad, this is my friend, Sam Carter. We work together. Sam, this is my dad Frank O'Neill."

"Pleased to meet you," Sam said, shaking Frank's hand.

"Pleasure's all mine," Frank nodded. "So you're in the Air Force too?"

"Mhmm. Been Jack's second in command for five years."

"Very good." Frank began making his way up the front steps and Jack rushed forward to lend him an arm. "I'm a retired General my self."

"So's my dad. He's the one that got me interested in joining."

Frank nodded approvingly. "Well, you two kids've got something in common, then."

Sam tried not to laugh at the irony of Col. O'Neill being referred to as a 'kid'.

* * *

Later as Sam and Jack took Frank's things upstairs, Jack leaned over and said in a hushed tone, "I think he likes you."

"Really? You could tell?"

"Uhuh. He didn't immediately start criticizing you." Jack paused a moment. "Come to think of it he didn't immediately start criticizing me either. Maybe he's gotten better with age."

"Jack." Sam said admonishingly.

"What?!" Jack stopped to let go of the suitcase he was carrying so he could open the door. "Don't tell me your dad didn't ever annoy the crap outta you. Remember the first time I'd met him? At that awards ceremony in Washington?"

"Yeah, but those were entirely different circumstances." Sam said.

"Not really. Jake had cancer and my dad's a…conservative, catholic, ex-air force guy."

Sam rolled her eyes as she took the suitcase into the room and set it down on the floor. "He reminds me of you."

"What?!"

"Just the little things." She straightened up and folded her arms over her chest, squinting slightly. "Things he says…the way he smiles. I don't know."

"Yeah, well, we might be a little bit similar, I guess," Jack said with a shrug, leaning against the edge of the mahogany dresser. "Now you're in for a surprise when you meet Dane. He's more your speed."

"What, and you aren't?" Sam grinned.

"Carter," Jack pointed on finger at himself emphatically. "I am your speed when you're toting a big honkin' gun around. But you know you leave me in the dust when you start in on all that techno-babble you do."

Sam chuckled, shaking her head. "I do envy you a little…for your family, I mean. Mine was never like this. I wish I could have been a part of it…"

"Hey, you could still be a part of this family if you want, Sam." Jack said. Sam slowly raised her eyebrows and stared at him for a minute before it clicked. "Oh, geeze, that was awkward, wasn't it?" They stared at each other for another long moment, then Jack said quickly, "Lets go see if they've got hot chocolate down there. I could really use some hot chocolate."

"Whatever." Sam said, following him out of the room and slowly shaking her head.

* * *

A few more cousins or aunts or whatever they were – Sam couldn't remember – arrived later that day, so they had to end up having dinner sitting wherever they could find some space because Ben and Stacy hadn't cleaned off the huge dinning room table yet. Sam and Jack joined Frank in the sitting room before the fire, Jack in one of the armchairs and Sam and Frank on either end of the couch.

"So you two are at Cheyenne Mountain, right?" Frank asked.

"Yep." Jack nodded. "Had to fly up here. It was pretty boring…we couldn't even bum a ride off the Air Force. But we made it."

"So what do you do for the Air Force exactly?" The question was more directed at Sam then Jack. Frank already knew what his son did and didn't fully approve of it.

"Scientific analysis, development of new technologies. It's all classified but really interesting." Sam replied. She had her plate sitting in her lap and Jack noticed the way her fingers curled around the edge. She always seemed to do that when she was gearing up for some long explanation, except usually it was grabbing the edge of the table or the arm of a chair. Her eyes would widen a little too.

Jack shook himself mentally. "Yeah, I just pretty much supervise. Sam's the brains behind the operation."

"I would imagine," Frank said dryly. "How long are you two staying?"

"Just until the day after Christmas," Jack said. "We only got a week off."

Frank raised his snowy eyebrows. "Scientific analysis and all they gave you was a week off?" he chuckled when all Sam and Jack did was exchange looks. "I worked for the government long enough to smell a cover story when I hear one."

Frank looked back down at his plate and continued eating. Sam stood up, excusing herself quietly to go put her now empty plate in the kitchen. A few moments passed and Frank looked over at his son.

"She's quite a girl."

"Who? Sam?" Jack nodded. "Yeah. She couldn't be where she is today and not be quite a girl. Woman. Whatever."

"Someone like her would be good for you, Jonathan." Frank was looking at him with a serious, pensive expression.

Jack opened and closed his mouth once before speaking. "Dad, she's one of my best friends. I wouldn't ruin that just 'cus you think I need a wife."

"Suit yourself." They both looked up as Sam entered the room again. Frank smiled. "Well, young lady, you wouldn't mind giving an old man a hand here, would you?"

"Of course not." Sam moved over to his side. "I could just take your plate in for you if you want."

"No, I need the exercise." Frank put a hand on her arm, using her for support as he got slowly to his feet. "It's just the getting to my feet I need help with." He nodded to them before shuffling off towards the kitchen.

Sam walked over to stand next to Jack's chair, facing the fire with her arms wrapped around herself. The large room was rather drafty, though near the fireplace it was warm.

Jack looked up at her. "So."

"So?"

"Does this beat staying back in your lab?"

"Oh, definitely." Sam grinned. "I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of spending Christmas alone."

"Is your life really_that_ bleak, Sam?" Jack asked, looking slightly mortified.

"Well, all my boyfriends seem to die or go crazy…or some combination of the two, so yeah." Sam shrugged. "It's not all that bad though. I mean Janet invited me over, of course, so…"

"There ya go then."

Sam tilted her head a little to one side. "So what were you going to do if you didn't come here?"

"Oh, probably just sit around, drinking beer and watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special." Jack gave her a broad grin. "Or something." He patted the broad arm of the chair, motioning at her to sit down. Sam gave him an odd look, but shrugged and perched on the arm of the chair. Jack sat back, not looking at her. "So what d'ya think Danny and T are up to right now?"

"No idea. You could try calling them…well, you could call Daniel. I don't think they get very good cell phone reception on Chulak."

"No, I wouldn't imagine…" Jack squinted into the fire for a few minutes. "You know, this whole thing with my dad is going a lot better than I'd expected. I was ready for him to start chewing my head off the minute he got here."

"Really?" Sam raised her eyebrows. "He seems nice…and from what I can tell not very mad at you. Not like how you made him out to be."

"You suggesting that I over exaggerated?"

Sam shook her head. "Not consciously. Maybe it just seemed worse then. Or maybe there was something else going on…or just maybe you being away for so long made him realize how much he actually loves you."

"Hah. I don't think 'love' is in his vocabulary." Jack said bitterly. "Not when applied to himself, at least."

Sam sighed. She could feel herself slipping a little and reached out, her hand landing on Jack's shoulder. Rather than moving her hand she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Jack brought his hand up to cover hers.

"I'm ok." He said in response to Sam's unasked question. "Really. This is just all a little overwhelming. And I'm sure it'll only get worse before it gets better."

"Well, I'm here to stick it out with you, sir." Sam said, moving her hand to give him a little half-salute.

Jack chuckled. "Thanks, Carter, it means a lot to me."

* * *

The next day was Sunday, and Frank insisted on going to church. Some of the others joined him, though Sam, Jack, and Ben opted to stay home.

"I'm not much of a church person," Ben admitted as the three of them shared a late breakfast. "Stacy is though. She was brought up in one of those huge Irish catholic families."

"Heh. She's got the hair for it," Jack said, grinning.

Ben nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Dane's getting in today."

"He is?" Jack looked up.

"Yeah." Ben looked at the clock. "Should be getting here pretty soon too."

"Good. He'll get here before Dad gets back and has a chance to ruin the mood." Jack pushed his chair back and stood up. " 'Scuse me, I should go change out of my PJ's." He turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Ben shook his head. "He's a piece of work sometimes."

"Jack?"

"Yahuh."

Sam set her fork down. "Are things really as bad as he says? Between him and Frank and Dane?"

"Between Frank and Dane…they're probably worse than even Jack says. But Frank isn't half as angry with Jack as he thinks." Ben said.

"Jack said it had to do with his dad being upset about him marrying."

"That was one reason," Ben nodded. "Frank just didn't like Sarah. Part of it was she was a Protestant, I think, but the other part…I don't know, he just didn't like her. I met her, she was perfectly fine. But Frank…" he shrugged.

"And that's not the only reason he was mad at Jack?"

"I think it's more of a case of Jack being mad at him, if you want the truth," Ben admitted. "You'll understand what I mean when Dane gets here. It's…really complicated."

They finished eating in thoughtful silence then Sam put the dishes in the dishwasher and headed out into the living room just as Jack was putting some logs on the fire. He'd just stood up and brushed the soot and bark chips off his pants when the doorbell rang. For a moment Jack just looked at Sam, then turned to go answer it.

Sam could hear excited voices from the front hall, then a moment later Jack came back in, a suitcase in one hand and his other arms around the shoulders of a younger man who had to be Dane.

It was obvious from the first glance that the two were brothers, though instead of Jack's dark brown eyes Dane had bright blue ones, and his face, while similar, had none of the hard, stern angles that Jack's did. The effect gave Dane a slightly cherubic appearance, despite his thin build.

"And this," Jack said, gesturing towards Sam. "Is my lovely and intelligent friend Samantha Carter. Sam, I'd like you to meet my little brother Dane."

"Nice to meet you finally," Sam said, stepping forward.

Dane grinned, opting for a friendly hug rather than the typical handshake. "Yeah, you too." He stepped back. "So you guys' flight wasn't too bad?"

"Nope." Jack shook his head. "You had to come all the way from San Francisco, though, right?"

"Oh yeah," Dane rolled his eyes. "That was a lot of fun…except not really."

Jack picked up Dane's suitcases. "I'll take these upstairs…you two stay here and chat."

"Great." Dane sent his brother a grin, then he and Sam sat down in some nearby chairs. "So Jack said you've been meeting the various members of our lovely family…what do you think so far?"

"Definitely more interesting than my family," Sam said. "More drama."

"Oh yes, we love drama. Did you meet dear old dad yet?" Dane's voice took on a slightly bitter tone.

Sam nodded. "Yeah…he seems to like me."

"You're lucky then," Dane said with a sigh. "I'm sure you've heard several versions of what happened with me and him, yeah?"

"Mhmm…so what, you two just don't get along?"

"That and…" Dane made a face. "Daddy don't like gay people. We're an affront to god or some dogmatic bullshit like that."

"Ooh," it clicked for Sam and she nodded. "I see."

"Yep." Dane's eyes flicked up as the front door opened. He sighed, muttering, "And speak of the devil…"

Sam turned around. Frank and Stacy entered, followed by the rest of the group. Frank nodded to Sam in greeting, flashing her a rather tight smile and flat out ignoring his youngest son as he walked through with the others to the kitchen. Stacy hurried over and hugged Dane just as Jack entered.

"Ooh, did I miss a tense moment?" Jack asked, walking over to stand behind Sam's chair.

Dane shook his head. "No…he's pretending I don't exist."

"Oh," Stacy clicked her tongue and gave Dane a sympathetic look. "We'll make him get over it. You're his son."

Dane shrugged. "Not according to him."

Sam turned around to exchange a look with Jack and he shrugged, as though saying 'I told you'. Jack then sighed and walked over, sweeping his little brother into a bear hug.

"So what if he's pissed…everyone else is happy to see you."

Dane smiled up at him brightly. "I know. And I get to see you again, that's what really matters."

"Exactly," Stacy said, clapping her hands together with a laugh. "It's Christmas, and therefore we should all be determined to spread some good cheer, even if there is a Scrooge amongst us. So now who's up for some hot apple cider?"

They all nodded, exchanging warm if rather strained smiles, before following Stacy into the kitchen.


End file.
